Gardening time here..

[jeep]

We had a pretty decent frost here last night!

Wow, that's kind of late, isn't it? We have similar weather as you and it was nice last night. I haven't closed my windows at night for about 2 weeks, but it has been chilly enough to keep me drinking coffee in the mornings...

[jwcarlson]

Wow, that's kind of late, isn't it? We have similar weather as you and it was nice last night. I haven't closed my windows at night for about 2 weeks, but it has been chilly enough to keep me drinking coffee in the mornings...

Our frost free date is around mid-May, I believe. I will say that our temperatures are colder at night than the forecast by almost 10 degrees sometimes. It was 38 last night in the forecast. But we had crispy grass this morning.

[brewmaster15]

Usually our frost free date is around mothers day ... but its been super warm here and the long range forecast agrees. I think we are done here with frost this year. I could be wrong but I am hedging my bets.I over planted my needs and even if I lost A bunch of stuff I have more than enough to replant. I also can easily cover almost everything here for a night if need be. I have already precut the plastic..

I usually wait until Mothers Day for most plants like peppers and tomatos ...

[jeep]

Mine have been in for 3 weeks but I've found that getting them in the ground early doesn't really affect the date of the first ripe tomato. I can usually get some cherry's around June 20th and full size around June 30th to July 4th. They really kick in around the 3rd week of July.

[LizStreithorst]

You're right, Brian. What matters to the plants is the soil temp not the air temp. Still, it's hard not to plant things when it warms up enough.

[brewmaster15]

Mine have been in for 3 weeks but I've found that getting them in the ground early doesn't really affect the date of the first ripe tomato. I can usually get some cherry's around June 20th and full size around June 30th to July 4th. They really kick in around the 3rd week of July.

This is true.. Tomatoes and peppers really wont put out much root development until the soil hits 50-60 f ..

https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/let-soil-temperature-guide-you-when-planting-vegetables-0

I never plant them in the ground until.the ground is warmer... I can however get away with earlier planting in my container gardens and whiskey barrels. Thats where my peppers go in early.These really heat up during the day.

[Second Hand Pat]

You guys are a bad influence lol. I'm thinking of trying my hand at a few simple veggies. My son-in-law Mike is a master with plants (he grew up working in the families nursery business). Mike and Diana have some super serious veggie beds going. I think I will start with tomatoes. Love the silly things. I think I would like to try strawberries at some point.
Pat

[danotaylor]

Nice one Pat! Use your water change water one your tomatoes, they love nitorgen!

[brewmaster15]

Pat tomatoes are a great veggie to start with. I would suggest at least one cherry tomatoe plant as they produce quickly and prolifically.
Be sure to have your son-in-law show you how to properly prune them. Tomatoes do best as vines so you want to trim the "sucker" branches off that start to grow where the leaves meet the stem. You really just want the main stem growing.Too many "suckers" will weaken the plants stem and slow down fruit production.

[jeep]

I pretty much have to till my garden as soon as it's dry enough. A friend has a nice heavy duty tiller and he can only do it on a weekend, and if I wait too long the Spring rains can cause huge delays. After it's been tilled I start planting right away or the coming rains compact the soil so it's harder to plant by hand. I start with seeds, then seedlings, then small plants I've never had a late freeze that has affected my seeds, but I have lost some tomato plants a few times. I didn't mind replacing plants when they were .99 each, but at $5 these days, it's a gamble. I got lucky this year. Everything is looking thick and hardy, other than what the deer have destroyed. By the way, between the deer and squirrels, my fruit tree season is all but destroyed as well. I guess the squirrels didn't feel comfortable climbing the thin main branches so they chewed off about 4 feet of my trees and ate the fruits from the ground

[Second Hand Pat]

Pat tomatoes are a great veggie to start with. I would suggest at least one cherry tomatoe plant as they produce quickly and prolifically.
Be sure to have your son-in-law show you how to properly prune them. Tomatoes do best as vines so you want to trim the "sucker" branches off that start to grow where the leaves meet the stem. You really just want the main stem growing.Too many "suckers" will weaken the plants stem and slow down fruit production.

No worries Al and I will. Thinking about growing only cherry tomatoes as a start. They are my favorite.
Pat

[brewmaster15]

I pretty much have to till my garden as soon as it's dry enough. A friend has a nice heavy duty tiller and he can only do it on a weekend, and if I wait too long the Spring rains can cause huge delays. After it's been tilled I start planting right away or the coming rains compact the soil so it's harder to plant by hand. I start with seeds, then seedlings, then small plants I've never had a late freeze that has affected my seeds, but I have lost some tomato plants a few times. I didn't mind replacing plants when they were .99 each, but at $5 these days, it's a gamble. I got lucky this year. Everything is looking thick and hardy, other than what the deer have destroyed. By the way, between the deer and squirrels, my fruit tree season is all but destroyed as well. I guess the squirrels didn't feel comfortable climbing the thin main branches so they chewed off about 4 feet of my trees and ate the fruits from the ground

Thats terrible Brian. I had similar happen here in the past with my pear trees. They chewed through the branches and just dropped the fruit.

Our farms out here till the ground early and then wait for the rains.. once it rains good they go back and use black plastic to grow their squash, tomatoes, peppers etc. The plastic traps the moisture, keeps out the weeds , and since its black it heats the soil during the day.

[brewmaster15]

No worries Al and I will. Thinking about growing only cherry tomatoes as a start. They are my favorite.
Pat

Nice thing about Cherry tomatos Pat it they are one of the few tomatoes that do well direct sowing seeds .. they grow very fast. I can even get away with them direct sowing even here in CT .

[Second Hand Pat]

Nice thing about Cherry tomatos Pat it they are one of the few tomatoes that do well direct sowing seeds .. they grow very fast. I can even get away with them direct sowing even here in CT .

Have you ever tried fermenting stuff Al? My daughter is playing with it. Pic from her kitchen.
Pat

[brewmaster15]

I have not fermented veggies. I have fermented malt for beer, grapes for wine, and Milk for kerfir( a really nutritious drink similar to yogurt.) I have thought about doing veggies as they are very nutritious fermented but have not.... yet